WASHINGTON — Out-of-work with no place to land, the legions of America's unemployed are growing. The Labor Department is scheduled to release a report today expected to show the nation's unemployment rate edging closer to double digits. Wall Street economists predict the jobless rate will rise to 9.6 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May. That would mark a 26-year high.

The rising rate comes as recession-weary companies continue to cut workers. Economists expect a loss of 363,000 jobs in June, up from 345,000 job cuts in May. Economists believe a chunk of those cuts will be tied to shutdowns at General Motors Corp. and fallout from the troubled auto industry.

Still, if economists' forecasts are correct, it would be consistent with the belief that the worst of employers' payrolls cuts have occurred. Companies are expected to keep shedding jobs through the rest of this year, but economists hope the pace will continue to taper off.

FTC TAKES ACTION AGAINST SWINDLERS

WASHINGTON — The economic downturn appears to be bringing out the worst in some people.

The Federal Trade Commission announced a major crackdown yesterday on scammers trying to take advantage of people worried about the tough economy by promising jobs that don't exist, get-rich-quick schemes, debt-reduction scams and other phony services.

The biggest case involved a California company called Family Products that marketed alleged get-rich schemes such as "John Beck's Free & Clear Real Estate System."

The FTC says the company made bogus claims through DVDs, brochures and national infomercials about the ability to raise cash fast. In all, more than 600,000 people were duped out of about $300 million, said the agency.

GM ANXIOUS TO SELL ITS 'GOOD' PARTS

NEW YORK — Facing a July 10 government funding cutoff, General Motors Corp. is calling for quick approval of its bid to sell its "good" parts into a new company and emerge from bankruptcy protection.

A bankruptcy court hearing on the sale enters its third day today. Yesterday, a GM attorney warned in closing arguments the only option to the sale plan is the company's liquidation.

"The economics in this case don't change if this sale doesn't get approved, they just get worse," GM attorney Harvey Miller said, adding that the resulting liquidation would place the future of GM's hundreds of suppliers in danger, as well as send the U.S. into an even deeper economic crisis.

Detroit-based GM's government-backed plan for a quick exit from Chapter 11 hinges on the sale plan, which would allow the automaker to leave behind many of the costs and liabilities that have made it unprofitable.

APARTMENT PRICES DROP IN MANHATTAN

NEW YORK — Apartment prices in the typically resilient Manhattan market plunged in the second quarter by the largest annual amount in decades, data released today showed.

The median price fell between 13 percent and 19 percent from a year ago, according to four separate reports, and sales were off by half from last year's totals.

"The city did a nosedive. There was virtually no business," said Dottie Herman, president and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman, one of the largest real estate brokerages in New York.

Multimillion-dollar apartments were the hardest hit. Luxury buyers vanished as Wall Street bonuses and jobs dried up and so-called jumbo loans for anything over $729,750 remained almost nonexistent. That loan limit is less than the median price of a Manhattan apartment, which ranged from $760,000 to $849,000.